A year after the devastating 9.0 magnitude earthquake and resulting
tsunami that occurred off the coast near Tohoku, Japan in March 2011, debris
began washing up on the Oregon coast. In June 2012, a task force was created as
a way to coordinate efforts to respond to the debris. The task force, made
up of state and federal agencies along with non-governmental organizations such
as
SOLVE Oregon and the
Surfrider Foundation created a
response plan
and worked together for three years to coordinate nearly 900 clean-up events
during which more than 446,000 pounds of debris was collected by an estimated
40,000 volunteers.
In addition, the task force conducted public outreach workshops,
created a
public
service announcement and managed the removal of a 60x17 ft. floating dock -
and many varieties of invasive sea species - that grounded at Agate Beach in
Newport, Oregon.
The final meeting of the Japanese Tsunami Marine Debris (JTMD) was held
on Oct. 29, 2014.